Skip to main content

Exporting Blueprints to Tangerine

This guide documents the manual workflow for exporting Mikan assets from Autodesk Maya to Tangerine. This process is designed for prototyping and testing, acting as a bridge before fully automated pipeline integration.

Prerequisites:​

  • Basic knowledge of the Mikan authoring tools in Maya.
  • Mikan Version: Ensure you are running the latest version of Mikan (currently v1.0.4 or higher). Tangerine automatically fetches the latest Mikan version upon installation, but it is best practice to keep your Maya environment up to date.

1. Data Transfer Overview​

The transfer format between Maya and Tangerine is Alembic (.abc). While Alembic does not natively distinguish between joints and transforms or preserve child order, the Mikan framework is designed to handle these limitations using metadata.

Metadata Handling​

Mikan stores all necessary rig fabrication data within the Template attributes:

  • notes: Contains code blocks and script logic.
  • gem_*: Attributes with this prefix define object typing, IDs, and other structural data.

2. Preparing the Asset in Maya​

Before exporting, ensure your scene is organized correctly.

The Rig Template​

You must export the Root of the Mikan asset (default name: asset).

Important

The rig must be in its Template state (unbuilt). Do not export a built control rig. Tangerine requires the skeleton structure found in the asset|template group to reconstruct the logic.

Geometry​

Include all relevant geometry groups in your export selection:

  • Main Geometry: Typically named geo (though nomenclature is flexible).
  • Auxiliary Geometry: Any groups containing geometry for Wires, FFDs, or Blendshapes.

Shaders​

Alembic does not support material definitions. Mikan uses a metadata bridge to reconstruct basic shading in Tangerine for visualization (Previz) purposes.

Supported Features:​

  • Lambert style shading (Diffuse Color / Diffuse Texture).
  • Alpha channel.
  • Basic animated parameters (restricted support).

How to export Shader Data: You must run a process that reads the shaders assigned to your geometry and injects a structure into a gem_shaders metadata attribute on the group.

Option A: UI Method

  1. Select geometry groups to process.
  2. Navigate to Tools > Export > Save Shaders Data.

Option B: Python Method

You can execute the following code to inject the data programmatically:

from mikan.maya.lib.shaders import export_shaders

# Injects data to the 'geo' group's gem_shaders attribute 
# and returns the data dict.
data = export_shaders("geo")

3. Creating the Alembic File​

Once the asset is prepared and shader data is saved, you can proceed to export.

Use the Mikan helper tool to ensure all settings are correct:

  1. Select your asset root and geometry groups.
  2. Go to Tools > Export > Export Blueprint ABC.

Manual Export​

If exporting manually via Maya's standard Alembic export, ensure the following settings are enabled:

  • Attributes: You must explicitly include notes and gem_* in the attribute export list.
  • Geometry: Verify settings for UVs and Visibility based on your specific asset needs.

4. Launching Tangerine​

To enable the Mikan import tools within Tangerine, a specific environment variable (MIKAN_MENU="on") is required. Mikan provides helper tools in Maya to streamline this.

  1. Set Path: Go to Tools > Export > Set Tangerine Path and point to the Tangerine executable.
  2. Launch: Go to Tools > Export > Run Tangerine.
note

This command launches Tangerine with the correct environment variables and passes the current path of your Mikan module. This is useful if you are developing with a custom version of Mikan; otherwise, Tangerine will use its pre-installed version.

5. Building the Rig in Tangerine​

Once Tangerine is running and the Python environment is initialized:

  1. Locate the Mikan menu in the Tangerine interface.
  2. Select Build ABC.
  3. In the file browser, select the .abc file exported from Maya.

The Build Process: Tangerine will parse the Alembic file, reconstruct the rig logic (identical to the Maya build), assign shaders based on the metadata, and apply utility settings (e.g., locking geometry selection).

Troubleshooting

If the build fails or behaves unexpectedly, check the Console Logs in Tangerine. Errors usually indicate either a fabrication issue in Maya or a bug in the Mikan framework that should be reported.